Golf Carts on the Roads in SoWal

[Leader of the Banned]

For people who like the things, why can't they just have stationary golf cart rides? Like those horse rides where you put in a couple of quarters. You could get on one totally inebriated, no harm no foul. That's all these folks want. "Hey look at me I'm on a golf cart man. Let's take a selfie and put it on facebook. Life shore is funn, har, har!"

 

[30A Skunkape]

You have lost me now.

Skunkape, why can't our community encourage walking and bicycles? Golf carts are just Lazy Boys on wheels.

I think we do, more than most places. But, the problem SOWAL has is by and large she attracts visitors that live within in a 400 mile or so bubble. Within that bubble you will find the cradle of NASCAR and umbilical attachment to private cars for all transportation needs. I'm not gonna drop the Reneck Riviera bomb, but you know...

 

[Matt J]

I think we do, more than most places. But, the problem SOWAL has is by and large she attracts visitors that live within in a 400 mile or so bubble. Within that bubble you will find the cradle of NASCAR and umbilical attachment to private cars for all transportation needs. I'm not gonna drop the Reneck Riviera bomb, but you know...

I'm not going to drop the bomb; just build it, arm it and leave it over here. :roll:

 

[Kurt]

I think we do, more than most places. But, the problem SOWAL has is by and large she attracts visitors that live within in a 400 mile or so bubble. Within that bubble you will find the cradle of NASCAR and umbilical attachment to private cars for all transportation needs. I'm not gonna drop the Reneck Riviera bomb, but you know...

 

[carson]

Lsv

Okay, so I am grabbing a few bags of Amavida's finest this morning and right at Cowgirl Kitchen as I am burning pavement at 27 mph (outlaw I know) I had to roll down the window and yell at two passing squirrels "Go Around!"

All vehicles are now LSVs on this stretch of 30a, Grandmas on beach bikes pack more velocity.

 

[robertsondavies]

For anyone who thinks LSVs and golf carts are perfectly safe and harmless on 30a, I encourage them to take off their seatbelts and drive one of these vehicles into a concrete wall or large tree at 20 mph.

Running into anything at 15-20 mph without a seatbelt (even in a vehicle with crash prevention technology like airbags and anti-lock brakes) is not a pleasant experience. Far worse would be a side or rear collision with one of the heavy vehicles that regularly travels 30a. Do you want to see what a golf cart versus dump truck collision looks like? I certainly don't.

These stupid carts are not safe and I don't want the maiming or death of someone's loved one to be what finally convinces lawmakers.

I do appreciate that you are concerned for safety. No quarrel with your intent and concern. Its just that Allstate et.al are in disagreement with your assessment. Insurance companies underwrite liability risk on these, which includes bodily injury. IN the history of insurance underwriting, the ratings/premiums will reflect the risk of paying for damages, liability for bodily injury first and foremost (which damages can be enormous) and to a bit lesser extent property damage. If what you're saying about LSV's is true (and current underwriting is therefore way way wrong) on a relative basis (to cars) for this particular area, then Insurance companies will lose money, adjust premiums sky high.

 

[robertsondavies]

"Golf Carts: Safer Drunk Driving Than SUVs"

Yes, that's literally what ALLSTATE is telling us through their rates. They are telling you that the risk of monetary damages from bodily injury is calculably lower in the gerrymanderred golf cart/lsv, than it is for vehicles with velocity/weight/force potential that is multiple times higher.

The quotes however that they give you aren't headlined like you suggest, but this is quite literally implied. There are percentages of people who will break the law. Percentages may vary depending on location and vehicle type. Then they estimate the damages. Then they apply the premiums to cover those. Then they pocket and invest the difference for shareholders.

...underwriters are taking in known information, very much like astronomers or physicists. This doesn't mean they can't be wrong. Perhaps you'll be proven right, but they've been at this for several years now in Florida and elsewhere so they have lots of data to go on at this point.

 

[Matt J]

RD, you keep referencing areas that will develop over the coming years, perhaps you are not familiar with some of the large tracks of land along 30A. Those remaining empty areas are state forest and will not be developed.

 

[miznotebook]

Based on what the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recommends, I'm sticking with my compact carl

[h=1]Low- and medium-speed vehicles[/h]They shouldn’t mix with regular vehicles on public roads.

February 2014
In 1998 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) established a limited set of safety standards for low-speed vehicles (LSVs) intended for vehicles used "to make short trips for shopping, social, and recreational purposes primarily within retirement or other planned communities with golf courses." To qualify as an LSV, a vehicle must have four wheels and a top speed of 20-25 mph.
LSVs are exempt from most federal safety standards that apply to motor vehicles, and they are not required to meet any criteria for vehicle crashworthiness. Each LSV must be equipped with headlamps, taillamps, stop lamps, reflectors, mirrors, a parking brake, a windshield and seat belts.
States, not NHTSA, are responsible for regulating the operation of motor vehicles on public roads and for handling LSV titling and registration. Most states allow LSVs to attain speeds no greater than 25 mph on roadways with speed limits of no more than 35 mph. Four states (Connecticut, Mississippi, Montana and Pennsylvania) do not have statutes allowing the use of LSVs on their public roads. Many states allow their departments of transportation or local jurisdictions to restrict the use of LSVs on their roads.

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/low--and-medium-speed-vehicles/topicoverview

 

[TreeFrog]

Regardless of what the insurance companies may or may not currently be saying, my personal preference is clear. If I'm in a golf cart that is involved in a collision with a car or truck, I expect to come out on the losing end, probably in a dramatic and unpleasant sort of way.

It's simple physics.

And if I'm on 30A in a golf cart, the cars will outnumber me at least 100 to 1. Rationalizations and explanations are all well and good, but I'm not going to risk my life in one on 30A. If you want wind in your hair, get a Jeep.